claims to have taken a major step forward in chip technology by manufacturing the first 2nm chip. The company claims to have squeezed 50 billion transistors onto a chip the size of a fingernail.
The architecture can help processor manufacturers improve performance by 45% with the same amount of power as today’s 7nm chips, or the same level of performance using 75% less power, according to IBM. Many 2nm-based processors will likely offer something in between, a balance of better performance and improved power efficiency.
Mobile devices with 2nm-based processors could have up to four times the battery life of those with 7nm chipsets. IBM says you may only need to charge these handsets every four days. Laptops would benefit from an acceleration in the speed of these processors, while autonomous vehicles would detect and respond to objects faster, according to IBM. The company says the technology will benefit the likes of data center energy efficiency, space exploration, artificial intelligence, 5G and 6G and .
IBM apparently made the breakthrough 2nm ahead of its competitors. which appeared last fall, is the first processor based on TSMC’s 5nm technology node process. Other manufacturers, such as AMD and Qualcomm, use TSMC’s 7nm chips. Intel is unlikely to release 7nm processors . It currently uses 10nm and 14nm chips. However, Intel’s chips tend to have a higher density of transistors than their rivals at the same nm figure, so this is not an apple-to-apple comparison. TSMC, meanwhile, is also working on a 2nm process and plans to move to volume production of 4nm and 3nm. .
It’s unclear when 2nm processors will make their way into mainstream devices, but announcing 2nm chips and building them on a large scale are different challenges. IBM plans to release its first commercial 7nm processors this year in its Power Systems servers. While 2nm processors are probably at least a few years away from becoming laptops and phones, it’s at least good to know that more powerful and efficient processors are in the works.
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